It's Not What You've Lost, But It's What You Find
by Insomniabug aka BabyBrown
Summary: She glared at him like only she could and lowered her voice to a harsh whisper. "How about you keep your tongue where it belongs?" Another scene from Caroline and Tyler's summer. Takes place during the summer between season 2 and 3.


**Characters/Pairings**: Caroline/Tyler.

**Summary**: Another scene from Caroline and Tyler's summer. Takes place during the summer between season 2 and 3.

**A/N**: This started off as a 500 word drabble...it's now over 1200. Sheesh. Title from "Wish I Stayed" by Ellie Goulding.

**Disclaimer**: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.

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><p>For the second time he surprised her with a kiss.<p>

"What the hell!"

Caroline pushed him so hard he ended up on the lawn ten feet away. To her annoyance, he merely chuckled under his breath and brushed off his shorts. Crossing her arms across her chest, she watched him walk back towards her.

They had been standing on his front porch talking about his upcoming transformation, when he tilted his head to the side and just kissed her. Like it was a normal thing to do. A squeak erupted from her mouth in response to his strength. Even though Caroline was physically stronger than Tyler practically every day of the year, it was only in those few days before his transformation that they became more or less even in that department. Her lips automatically responded for a second before remembering herself and pushed him away. She told herself it was merely a reflex of being kissed.

(It had nothing to do with _how right _his lips felt on hers.)

Caroline immediately focused her hearing on the inhabitants of his house and breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the deep breathing indicating sleep.

"Wake up the whole town while you're at it" Tyler teased but Caroline could tell by the slight quirk of his ear that he had been checking for any disturbances himself.

She glared at him like only she could and lowered her voice to a harsh whisper. "How about you keep your tongue where it belongs?"

The moment the words left her mouth, she knew that it was the wrong thing to say. He raised an eyebrow and smirked. For his next move, he put his hands on her waist (again) and pulled her close (again.)

"If you say so." He said as he leaned in. His lips were a breath away from hers when Caroline twisted his wrists and forced him to let her go. It kind of bothered her that her hands didn't even make a mark on his skin. She wishes she could leave some sort of imprint on him.

"Talk about a wolf in boy's clothing" she quipped.

The smirk on his face made her furious...with _herself_. One minute she wanted to give in to her vampire urges and wring his neck. Then in the next minute she wanted to throw him against a wall and give in to a completely different set of urges. Urges that were suddenly making her go red in the face. There was something about Tyler Lockwood that made her feel like a normal _human _girl again.

Tyler held his arms across his chest and smirked some more, causing the butterflies in her stomach to spontaneously combust.

"Well what do we have here? Is Vampire Barbie blushing?"

Not for the first time, Caroline regretted mentioning the nickname Damon had given her. Even though he hated Damon's guts, Tyler laughed and adopted the nickname as his own. Not that she'd ever admit it, but she secretly didn't mind the nickname when he said it.

"No." She said with a pout. The famous pout even she knew came out when she was lying.

Tyler stepped closer until he was toe to toe with her. She could see the tiniest flecks of gold in his eyes, whether remnants of his wolf gene or just Tyler, she had no idea. Whenever she looked into his eyes, she wanted nothing more than to lose herself in them. If she wasn't 100% sure he was a werewolf, she would have thought him capable of compulsion.

Sometimes she wishes she could compel Tyler if only to make it easier on her heart. Lately she could feel something shifting between them. She knew it was getting harder for him to give her space, to not tell her how he feels. Whenever he was around, she could feel the air practically crackle with electricity. There were moments when he thought she wasn't looking where he would reach out as if to touch her but then immediately pull back.

(She sometimes wishes he didn't.)

The little voice inside her head would yell at her, saying she was crazy not to act on her own feelings because let's face it, his feelings weren't completely one-sided.

It's just, this was _Tyler_. The boy she's known since birth. The boy that pushed her on the playground and would get her into trouble just because she was taller than him in grade school. Tyler knew everything about her. He knew her darkest secrets and her darkest urges. He knew about the blood singing through her veins. Tyler knew what she was. He knew everything and still wanted to be with her. That was more terrifying than any weird vampire crap that happened in this town.

She didn't know what was worse, Matt finally knowing the truth about her and wanting to leave or Tyler knowing the truth about her and wanting to stay. She didn't know what to do with that kind of loyalty. Whenever she showed a side of herself and got close to someone, they would leave her. With a stab of pain she added Tyler to that list.

"_The difference was that he came back,_" came the little sound in her head.

Caroline was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice Tyler's hands on her shoulders until he began to rub them, the pads of his thumbs softly tracing circles against her skin. She was a badass vampire with crazy super powers, it wasn't fair that he could reduce her to mush with a simple touch. The emotion in his eyes made her silent heart skip a phantom beat in her chest.

"Caroline" he whispered like a prayer.

"What?" she said a little breathlessly, which was ridiculous because she didn't have to breathe.

"I...I think I'm..." he could barely get the words out. Her body unconsciously leaned forward.

"Yeah?" She inwardly cringed at the eager tone in her voice.

Tyler looked at her for a moment before smiling to himself. "I really want to kiss you right now."

Caroline scoffed, "Like you ever needed to ask."

Again, she really didn't think about the words before letting them out of her mouth. It sounded like she was saying he never needed permission to kiss her.

Her eyes widened, "That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?" She could see his eyes darting to her lips with an increasing frequency. She had to stop herself from licking them. Her entire body felt like it was burning up.

"Just that you never asked before." She hated how weak her voice sounded. Almost like her body was telling her to be quiet and to_ just. let. this. happen_.

Tyler's face leaned in closer to hers. His breath softly danced across her lips. She estimated that the distance separating her from bliss was less than a centimeter. Caroline licked her lips and stared at his. The lust vibrating throughout her body had nothing to do with the blood pumping fiercely through his.

"And what would happen if I asked now?"

All traces of confidence left his eyes. He was laying it all out there for her, taking the chance that she would shoot him down. She knows she should let him down gently. She knows she should brush it off with some kind of joke.

In the end, she decides to do what she always does...what she wants.

"What the hell" she whispers before pulling him towards her.

Tomorrow she'll let him down gently. Tomorrow she'll brush it off with some kind of joke.

But tonight, they're just a boy and a girl making out on his front porch.


End file.
